5 Reasons ‘Tin Man’ Deserves to Win Song of the Year at the 2017 CMA Awards

Miranda Lambert is one of the most nominated artists in the upcoming 2017 CMA Awards, including her nomination for Song of the Year for "Tin Man." Read on for all of the reasons she richly deserves the award.

Lambert wrote "Tin Man" with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, so the three of them would share the honors if the song wins. She really bared her soul for the heartbreak song, which addresses the emotional aftermath of her divorce from Blake Shelton. The plaintive acoustic ballad finds Lambert envious of the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz, who doesn't have a heart.

"If you ever felt one breaking, you'd never want a heart," Lambert sings in the wrenching tagline for "Tin Man."

The song was included on Lambert's double album The Weight of These Wings, which is also nominated for Album of the Year in the 2017 CMA Awards. It's one of the best-selling and most acclaimed albums of the year, and the song has also been especially well-received. Scroll through below to read why "Tin Man" deserves to win Song of the Year at the 2017 CMA Awards, and let us know in the comments section if you agree or disagree and why.

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5

It's a Novel Premise

Lambert and her co-writers, Jon Randall and Jack Ingram, have crafted an understated masterpiece with "Tin Man." Its simple structure is premised around strummed chords, and the melody is straightforward and right to the point in the tradition of all great country songs. But it is the premise of the song that most sets it apart, with Lambert directly addressing the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz, telling him how lucky he is that he doesn't have a heart that can be broken.

4

It Marks a New Maturity

Lambert emphasized a singer-songwriter approach to the songs for The Weight of These Wings, and nowhere is that more apparent than "Tin Man." The song and the entire album mark a new maturity for Lambert as she uses the pain of her divorce and what she learned from it to move to a new place as an artist.

3

It's a Stellar Live Track

It's one thing to write and record a great piece of music, but the truest test of a great song it how it impacts people in the moment. "Tin Man" has been a highlight of Lambert's shows since she released The Weight of These Wings, but she really stunned viewers at home when she debuted the song live on the 2017 ACM Awards, giving a vulnerable performance in which she opened up like never before.

4

This Is Jack Ingram's Shot at a CMA

Jack Ingram is a beloved Texas country artist, and he's had some national attention over the years. But he's never had the kind of traction that Lambert does to get nominated for a CMA, and as a co-writer on "Tin Man," this could finally be his well-deserved moment in the CMA sun. Ingram won an ACM Award for Top New Male Vocalist in 2008, but this is his first CMA nomination, and it's exceptionally well-deserved.

1

Lambert's Aching Vulnerability is Universal

Rick Diamond, Getty Images

Lambert was obviously hurting from her divorce when she wrote "Tin Man," along with so many of the songs from The Weight of These Wings. But it's one thing to capture that kind of intense emotion in words, and another entirely to convey it to people. Lambert's delicate, yearning performance on "Tin Man" lets us see past her "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" slash-and-burn persona and into her soul, and the emotions of loss and anguish she conveys belong to everyone who hears the song.